The recent proliferation of electronic devices for communication, information management and recreation has taken routine computing power far away from the desk-bound personal computer. Users are using devices such as cell phones, camera phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and navigation systems, not only in the office and in the home, but also in the field and on the road. There is a diverse range of possible applications for such devices, including communication, business, navigation, entertainment and even managing basic daily activities. Many users today only use a single device for a single task, for example, using cell phones for making and receiving phone calls. However, these devices are no longer single-function devices. They are capable of creating various types of data, for instance, electronic mail, voice messages, photos, video, etc. Increasing the number of functions of a device increases the level of personalization to the users. It is desirable to provide users a connected-service to connect and access their data wherever they are, with whatever device they are using and whatever service they are connected to.
One of the challenges of providing such a connected-service to a user is the need of provisioning a mobile device after the user has purchased the product. Traditionally, a user would have to provision the device through a cradle connected to a personal computer. This typically takes place in the home or in the office. Until the provisioning step is completed, the user cannot use the mobile device. Therefore, there is a need for provisioning a mobile device anytime and anywhere.
Another challenge of providing such a connected-service to a user is the need of connecting one or more user devices to a set of settings and data the user has already established in his PC, PDA, cell phone, or other devices. For example, there is a need for a user to clone the set of settings and data from an existing device to a new device upon acquiring the new device. There is a need for the user to repair or replace an existing device with the set of settings and data. There is a need for the user to terminate the service of a user device if the user device is lost, stolen, or temporarily misplaced.
Yet another challenge of providing such a connected-service to a user is the need of notifying the user status of communications to the one or more user devices that share a common set of settings and data. For example, there is a need for notifying the user when there is an overflow condition in the storage of emails, tasks, calendar events, or address book entries at the one or more user devices.
Yet another challenge of providing such a connected-service to a user is the need of maintaining consistency of data among the server and the one or more user devices that share a common set of settings and data. For example, when the service has been interrupted at a server for a period of time, there is a need to synchronize the data changes among the server and the one or more user devices.